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Using Storage vMotion to migrate a virtual machine with many disks timeout

Symptoms

You may experience these symptoms:

  • Storage vMotion fails.

    Note: A virtual machine with many virtual disks might be unable to complete a migration with Storage vMotion. The Storage vMotion process requires time to open, close, and process disks during the final copy phase. Storage vMotion migration of virtual machines with many disks might timeout because of this per-disk overhead.

  • The Storage vMotion operation fails with a timeout between 5-10% or 90-95% complete.

  • The vCenter Server logs contain entries similar to:

    [yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss.nnn tttt error 'App'] [MIGRATE] (migrateidentifier) vMotion failed: vmodl.fault.SystemError
    [    yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss.nnn tttt verbose 'App'] [VpxVmomi] Throw vmodl.fault.SystemError with:
    (vmodl.fault.SystemError) {
       dynamicType = <unset>,
       reason = "Source detected that destination failed to resume.",
       msg = "A general system error occurred: Source detected that destination failed to resume."

    For more information on the location of vCenter Server log files, see Location of vCenter Server log files (1021804).


Resolution

This timeout occurs when the maximum amount of time for switchover to the destination is exceeded. This may occur if there are a large number of provisioning, migration, or power operations occurring on the same datastore as the Storage vMotion. The virtual machine's disk files are reopened during this time, so disk performance issues or large numbers of disks may lead to timeouts.

The default timeout is 100 seconds, and can be modified by changing the fsr.maxSwitchoverSeconds option in the virtual machine configuration to a larger value. This change must be done with the virtual machine powered down.

To modify the fsr.maxSwitchoverSeconds option using the vSphere Client:

  1. Open the vSphere Client and connect to the ESX/ESXi host or to vCenter Server.
  2. Locate the virtual machine in the inventory.
  3. Power off the virtual machine.
  4. Right-click the virtual machine and click Edit Settings.
  5. Click the Options tab.
  6. Select the Advanced: General section.
  7. Click the Configuration Parameters button.

    Note: The Configuration Parameters button is disabled when the virtual machine is powered on.

  8. From the Configuration Parameters window, click Add Row.
  9. In the Name field, enter the parameter name:

    fsr.maxSwitchoverSeconds
  10. In the Value field, enter the new timeout value in seconds (for example: 150).
  11. Click the OK buttons twice to save the configuration change.
  12. Power on the virtual machine.

To modify the fsr.maxSwitchoverSeconds option by editing the .vmx file manually:

The virtual machine's .vmx configuration file can be manually edited to add or modify the option. Add the option fsr.maxSwitchoverSeconds = "<new value>" on its own line. For more information, see Tips for editing a .vmx file (1714).

Tags

storage-vmotion-fails  storage-vmotion-migrate-timeout

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